Anyone ever had Lasik?

I am going in for a consultation on Tuesday. I've read up on it and watched some videos of the actual procedure on Youtube. The surgery only lasts like 15 minutes I guess, and most people say it's nothing, as they numb your eyes beforehand. I've read about the risks and possible side effects like there can be with any surgery you have. It seems like the most common issues are dry eyes, sensitivity to light, and seeing halos around bright lights.

It is pretty expensive and most insurance companies will not cover it, but it seems like a worth while procedure. I currently have a -5.00 diopter prescription, so I need to wear glasses and contacts all the time.

Has anyone ever had this procedure done? How were your results?

had it done, love not having to wear glasses or contacts, still catch myself waking up reaching for my glasses.
I have dry eye now, see halos around lights, especially headlights, and have sensitivity to light.
The worse part of having it done (yes beats out all the side effects)
The smell while it's being done. That is why I will not have the tune-up done.

Quote from vettedrvr55mph : had it done, love not having to wear glasses or contacts, still catch myself waking up reaching for my glasses. I have dry eye now, see halos around lights, especially headlights, and have sensitivity to light. The worse part of having it done (yes beats out all the side effects) The smell while it's being done. That is why I will not have the tune-up done.

haha. I'll probably do the same thing for months.

A few questions. When did you have it done? Have your eyes regressed at all since then?

I've had lindsay before....and a lindsey....and a lisa.....linda....lydia......no.....never lasik. sorry.

See this thread: http://slickdeals.net/f/3286784-L...hould-I-do

I had mine 4 yrs ago. No slipping with my prescription at all, and I'm still thrilled with the results.

Had it done. Love every second of being glasses-free now. Totally worth it.

This is something I want to have done eventually.

I'm chicken shit when it comes to my eyes.

Was it expensive? Because aren't there different types of lasik?

I had it done in 2000, no side effects and it took about 1-2 minutes per eye! It was completely painless.. i flew out to South Dakota, dr. Vance Thompson is one of the pioneers and the best around. Best decision I have ever made.

I've never had it done but have 2 friends that have. They had very different outcomes.

First one had it done in her late 40's, has dry eye syndrome but loves not having to wear her glasses anymore.

Second one, total nightmare. She's had pain, headaches, dizziness, floaters, light sensitivity... you name it. For the first 3 months after having it done, she was barely functioning and got really depressed. Now she just deals with the side effects and wishes she'd never done it.

Like most elective surgeries, it's a crap shoot. Good luck!

Quote from ZdenoChara : haha. I'll probably do the same thing for months. A few questions. When did you have it done? Have your eyes regressed at all since then?

5 years ago, and yes need a tune-up. distance is going. If I am tired I need reading glasses. I will NOT have a tune-up.

left eye is for close up right eye is for distance, took 7 months to get used to it. I bitched every single day and it threw my shooting off for that long, that's how I remember.

Quote from MsGal : I've never had it done but have 2 friends that have. They had very different outcomes. First one had it done in her late 40's, has dry eye syndrome but loves not having to wear her glasses anymore. Second one, total nightmare. She's had pain, headaches, dizziness, floaters, light sensitivity... you name it. For the first 3 months after having it done, she was barely functioning and got really depressed. Now she just deals with the side effects and wishes she'd never done it. Like most elective surgeries, it's a crap shoot. Good luck!

agree

See this post for my experience. It wasn't good, but ultimately I live ok with it now:

http://slickdeals.net/forums/show...stcount=12

I wrote extensively about my experiences here when I got it done initially.

The short story is that after thinking about it for 2 years, I got it done about 2 and a half years ago. I was -4.75 and -5.25 pre-procedure. I had an eval and went to an open house and watched a live procedure before doing it. I extensively researched things.

The procedure wasn't too bad. I had 10mg of Valium pre, which didn't really touch me much. I was quite anxious through the procedure. There's very little actual pain, it's all head games. It's extremely weird having the slice made and suddenly you're blind for a moment (until they put it back). You do smell burning flesh during the surgery, see a lot of bright lights, and feel pressure. You also stress about trying not to blink. I almost jumped up off the table from nerves after eye one, then they told me I was done, and eye two wasn't nearly as bad, knowing what to expect and all.

I had about 1-2 weeks of a fairly intense eye drop schedule, if I recall correctly. I had follow up at 1 day, 1 week, and maybe 1 month if I remember correctly? Then I went to annual appointments. I was nearly to 20/20 by the 1 day visit and cleared to drive then.

I now have perfect vision: 20/20 vision, no halos, no light sensitivity, no problems with night vision. In fact, my night vision is far better than it was with glasses/contacts before. I had custom LASIK, so that is suppose to help prevent those things. I think that is all most doctors do now.

I do have trouble with dry eyes now (though I had some problems with that even pre-op). I use Restasis now and artificial tears. No big deal, though the Restasis would be expensive if I didn't have good prescription coverage.